Scripture References:

Printable Bible Phrase
Cards:

Teaching Concepts:

Jesus loves you and wants you to be good. When you do bad things it makes God very sad, but God will not leave you. He will keep calling you back to him. When you ask God to forgive you, God is very happy and will forgive you.

Early Arrivals Crafts and Activities

1. Make a Cotton Ball Sheep

Have your children color a picture of a sheep and then glue cotton balls, fiberfill, popcorn, noodles painted white, or crinkled up white tissue paper onto the sheep's body.

You can also have them glue on foam flowers and leaves.

This craft can be made two different ways. You can print
out the pattern of the whole sheep and just have the children glue
on the materials.

This works okay but they tend to cover up parts
of the head with the cotton.

You can also print out the body and
head patterns separately. When the children are all done gluing
the cotton on, then they glue the head pattern on top of the cotton
as shown in the picture above.

The Lesson and Activity

Preparation:

Before class hide a stuffed sheep toy somewhere in the class where the children won't find it until lesson time. If you can go outside for this lesson, hide the sheep outside. (If you don't have a good place to hide the sheep in the room until story time, just have someone hide him in a purse or bag until the children start looking for him.) Give them a little time to look and then pull out the sheep and pretend that you have found him.

Have a teacher come into the room dressed like a shepherd. The shepherd should yell, "Woolie, where are you?" and start looking around the room. Then he should look down and notice the children. He can say something like, "Oh, Hi, I'm a shepherd. I have 100 sheep in my flock but today when I counted them I only could find 99. I realized that my little sheep, Woolie, is missing. I love all my little sheep very much and I could not stand it if I lost any of them. I have been looking for my little Woolie all morning and can't seem to find him. He must be really hungry and scared by now. Do you kids think maybe you could help me find him?" The shepherd and other teachers should start looking for the sheep around the room. The children will follow. The shepherd and other teachers should start calling for the sheep saying, "Woolie, come out, come out, wherever you are!" and "Woolie, I miss you." and "Woolie, Where are you?" When the sheep has been found, the shepherd should act very happy and hug the little sheep. He should say something like, "I'm so glad I found you, Woolie! I will always love you!" Then the shepherd should have all the children sit down in a circle and say, "This reminds me of a story I read in the Bible. Do you want to hear it?"

The Story:

One day Jesus told this story to a group of people who were following him. He told them that a shepherd had 100 sheep. He would count them every night. One night the shepherd only counted 99 so he left the 99 sheep and went looking for his little lost sheep. He looked everywhere and he didn't give up until he found it. He was so happy when he found his little lost sheep that he invited all his friends to his house to have a party to celebrate finding his little sheep.

Jesus told the people this story because he wanted them to know how much God loved them and cared for them. He was telling them that God is a lot like the shepherd in this story. When you do bad things you become lost from God it makes him very sad. God cannot be around sin. But God keeps calling you back until you find your way. When you ask God to forgive you for the bad things you do, he is so happy because he can be near you. God and all the angels in heaven celebrate and have a party when you ask God to forgive you. Let's pray and ask God to help us be good and to forgive us for the bad things we do.

I used the cotton ball sheep craft this past Sunday in my lesson. We had a blast! My husband came in about 5 minutes into class, as a frantic shepherd who had lost his most precious little lamb. The kids really got into it, and we searched all over the church for that lost lamb. We let one of them find it, and took "Sam" back to class with us. Then we had our story of Jesus as our shepherd, and they were so involved, I loved it.

Hi! I just wanted to let you know that I did the Lost Sheep lesson last week in my Sunday School class, and my three to six year olds just loved it! They especially liked when I, the shepherd, came in looking for the lost sheep. They listened very well to the story, and participated a lot. I got this lesson off of your sample page of the site, and as soon as I saw the success, I became a subscriber. I love all of the fun information and activities on your site. It is well worth the money paid. I plan on using this site for all of my lessons in the future. We'll be doing the Good Shepherd this week to expand on the sheep idea. I made the sheep sock puppet, so that "he" can do the lesson this week. I'll let you know next week how it went. I just want to say thanks! I know that this site will help our little Sunday School class grow in numbers and spirit. I'm so excited to see what happens. God Bless all of you!!!!! Sincerely, Nichole Adrian

For the Lost Lamb lesson, I passed out pictures of many different animals, one to each child,as they entered the church for the closing session. One person received a picture of a lamb (Wooly). At the given time, all children made the noises or pantomimed the actions of their animal. In the midst of the noise, a lone "baaa" could be heard. The shepherd looked throughout the church and the "animals", finally locating Wooly. The celebration included cheers, clapping and a song of joy! They loved it! Thank you for the inspiration!

My 2-5 year olds loved this lesson. My husband, who is the Assistant Pastor at our church came over and played the shepherd. The children sat so quietly during the lesson. They kept wanting to know if the shepherd was coming back. This definitely kept their attention.

Prayer

Father, We thank you for your loving kindness, for caring about us, and forgiving us when we ask for your forgiveness. Amen

Snack Time

Now let's have a party right now to celebrate finding my lost sheep! Hand out balloons (don't give them to very small children), snacks, and a drink.

The Father loves me and I love him,
We're a happy family.
With love of Jesus in our hearts to stay,
Won't you give your love today?

All the Little Sheep
Written by Marie
Sing to the tune of “If You’re Happy and You Know It”

Oh, all the little sheep belong to God.
Oh, all the little sheep belong to God.
When one sheep wanders off,
God will find it cause it’s lost,
Oh, all the little sheep belong to God.

God will bring the little sheep back to His Word.
God will bring the little sheep back to His Word.
We will sing to Him the praise,
He deserves all of our days,
God will bring the little sheep back to His Word.

The shepherd in the field shouts, "Where are you? Where are you?"
The shepherd in the field shouts, "Where are you? Where are you?"
The shepherd in the field shouts, "Where are you? Where are you?"
All the night long.

The shepherd in the field shouts, "There are you! There are you!"
The shepherd in the field shouts, "There are you! There are you!"
The shepherd in the field shouts, "There are you! There are you!"
All safe and sound.

2. Play "Gathering Your Sheep" Balloon Game.

What you will need: Balloons to make "sheep", newspaper, masking tape, two chairs, and an electric fan.

Preparation:

1. Before class blow up some balloons and draw a sheep face, ears, and tails on them with thick permanent markers.

2. Set up the two chairs at one end of the room, and a masking tape start line at the other end.

3. Roll up some newspapers to make rods and tape them so that they don't come apart.

4. Have about 3 children play at once depending on how much room you have.

How to Play:

1. Tell the children that they are going to pretend they are shepherds and that the balloons are their sheep. Give each child a sheep.

2. Show them the rods and tell them that the object of the game is to be the first shepherd to get his sheep into the fold with the rest of the sheep (between the chairs. Tell them that "Anyone caught hitting someone with their rod will have to sit out of the game."Give each child a rod.

3. Have three children stand at the start line with their balloon between their feet. The first child to push their "sheep" across the floor with their "rod" through the "gate" is the winner of that round. Once all the children get a chance to play, make the game harder by turning on a fan.

Tomorrow for our moments with the children, we're going to use the herding the balloon sheep idea. We set aside a few minutes of church each week for a small devotion for the kids. This week we're going to put the kids in the back of the church and have them herd their 'sheep' to the front. Then we're going to tell them how much we're like sheep to our shepherd, God. We often want to go our own way, to stray from the flock. God then has to herd us back into the safety of the fold. We're hoping a couple of balloons might pop to show how dangerous it is when we stray from God. We're really excited about this devotion. I think it will leave a lasting memory of the importance of staying close to God. Thank you for your wonderful site. It gives us great lessons and crafts, and ideas that we can build on to reach our kids. Keep up the good work. Thanks, Kandy

3. Make Oooey Gooey Sheep

Use a picture of some sheep and laminate them. Then give the children whipped cream to finger-paint with on the sheep. (Sent in by Nancy Foss)

4. Counting Wool

This activity can be done as a group activity or as an individual activity. Have the children take turns rolling dice or a die. The children glue cotton balls onto a sheep picture according how much they rolled on the dice. (Sent in by Nancy Foss)

*If you have older children you can make this a competitive game. Divide the children into teams and give each a picture of a sheep. Ask each team a question from the lesson. If they answer the question correctly they get to roll the dice and glue that many cotton balls to their sheep. The team that covers their sheep with cotton balls first wins.

5. Who's Missing?

Pick one child to stand in front of the room facing the wall with his eyes closed. Have the other children sit behind him. Silently pick one of the children to leave the room or hide behind an object in the room. Then have the child in the front of the room turn around and guess who is missing. Remind your children that God knows where we are all the time. We are never missing in his eyes.

6. Memory Game

Gather five items and set them on a table. Give the children about 30 seconds to look at the items. Have them close their eyes while you remove one of the items and then open them. Ask them if they know which item is missing? Play again but add more items this time. Keep playing and adding more items each time you play. Tell your children that no matter how many people there are in the world, God still know where everyone is at all times.

Resources

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Comments

We would love to hear your comments about this lesson. If you have done this lesson with your class we would love to hear how it went, if you changed anything, added anything, what age you taught and was it appropriate. Any comments that would help other teachers would be greatly appreciated and posted here for everyone to read.

We colored two pictures and made The Cotton Ball Sheep. It was a good craft, but the thin cardboard I used didn't hold up and they wouldn't stand, even when I bent the legs for a base. I would suggest using a stronger cardboard than poster board, or making it with just one side of cotton balls! I used pictures of flocks of sheep, shepherds holding lambs, and a picture of Jesus with a sheep to illustrate the point while we talked about the story. Then they got to color those pictures. It was probably the best lesson we've done in a few months. I've also been making up a half sheet of paper to give the parents after class that tells them what we learned. I include the Bible verse or story and a few questions their child should be able to answer. This has been a big hit - now Mom and Dad have a reference instead of having to ask "what did you do in class today?". Bethany Davis

We did the "Cotton Ball Sheep" craft. I cut craft sticks in half and pre-glued them to each child's sheep. I also cut the cotton balls into smaller pieces for the kids to glue on. This helped the the sheep stand up after completion. The kids loved it. Thanks! Becki Ryan

I used the Lost Sheep Lesson with our preschool class 2-5's the other week and had a lot of fun with it. We made the Cotton Ball Sheep. Before class I cut out the sheep and added craft sticks to each one. The kids loved gluing the cotton balls on and the faces they designed where great. We then played a game with the sheep, I turned around and my helper would tap one of the children on the shoulder to indicate hide your sheep. I became the shepherd, looking for the lost sheep. It was a hit, and it easily illustrated how Jesus, our good shepherd, takes care of us and knows us by name. A great lesson!!!

I did the Lost Sheep Sunday and the kids loved it. They especially loved the sheep game I made for them to play. Barbara

I have also used the Lost Sheep lesson and coloring page. The children had fun putting the cotton balls on their coloring pages. I also had an older child dress up like a shepherd and he talked to this children to see if they could help find his lost sheep. At the end of class the shepherd came back and told them he found Wooly and thanked them for the help.

God works in such delightful ways and you are part of THAT ministry. A few weeks ago, my sister saw a Lamb Chop Puppet
and had to buy it for me. I hid him in the room before the lesson and the kids were ecstatic when we called for him and found him. What a wonderful intro for the lesson. Thank you so much for sharing all your ideas! Lynnda

First, let me give thanks to you for this wonderful site. I have worked in the preschool ministry at our church for years and I' ve never came across any better material than what I find on your web site. I let my subscription run out once and tried just using the material given to me by our church. It was ok, but I always had to scramble around trying to find hard to get items for crafts or deleting things that I know would bore the kids silly and finding other things to do to replace it. I just renewed my subscription and once again I enjoyed a smooth lesson that the kids really enjoyed. I did the lesson The Lost Sheep and it was a super hit. The kids loved the balloon game and you could have heard a pin drop when my shepherd entered the room calling for Woolie. Then they all had a blast looking for my little sheep. Ricky

We did the lost sheep lesson a few weeks ago. The kids loved it. I had my sister dress like a shepherd and come in looking for her little lost lamb. The kids LOVED it! Well, most of them. I have a couple that are a little timid and my sister is a little over dramatic. We really played it up big. They talked about this lesson for weeks. We also did the craft of the lamb with cotton. The are not too hip on crafts (I have several that are early two's), but they really loved the cotton. Thanks for the great lesson. Keep up the good work!! Sandi Cook

We used the The Lost Sheep lesson. I had five children in my class that day which is a record. All the kids loved pulling the cotton balls apart and gluing them to the picture of the sheep, then drawing trees, flowers etc. on the picture. One thing they really liked was the story that I read and gave handouts. They said it was a good story. I like your stories as I have been asked to teach Sunday School at another Church every 2nd Sunday and am the only teacher there. This means that I would have children from all age groups. The story was very easy to read and understand. I have a 5 year old "disabled" young man in my class and he loved making his sheep. When he handed it to his mom after he said clear as a bell, "Mommy found my lost sheep" We were all ahead at this as his speaking skills are not the best.

We ate popcorn for this lesson in Sunday School and pretended it was sheep wool. Thanks for such creativity pointed toward eternal truths! Shari

Last weeks lesson was on The Lost Sheep. The kids loved it, before class started I hid a sheep and had all the kids in the class look for it. They loved it. For our craft we glued cotton balls to a picture of a sheep. Thanks for the ideas. Stacey

I combined some activities this week and had a guy dress up like a shepherd and come in looking for Woolie. The kids really liked that. Then I had Woolie tell them about his adventure getting lost and tied it in with God being our Shepherd. We made a poster with their pictures on the cut out sheep from the bulletin board idea. I had them hold cotton ball sheep in their lap and pretend to be shepherds during the story. We also used the bible verse box cards, planning to add more verse cards over the next few weeks. Things went really well, they enjoyed all of the activities and the story. Thanks so much. Emma Lou

I made the shaking head sheep for the pre-school but I used stryofoam cups upside down in place of the cone thought that would be sturdier. I also made sheep cookies. I made the sugar cookie dough then after it chilled I rolled little tiny balls and used a black jelly bean for the head and raisins for the feet. Kay

Just wanna mention a game that I've tried:
Have one or two children close their eyes in front of the room while someone hides a toy lamb in the room.
The one or two children start to look for the lamb and
the rest of the class cry out, "Hot, Cold or Warm" until the lamb is found. This works for the lost coin as well. Tata

I've taught this lesson to 4 ½ - 5 year olds once before and I have a new crop of Preschoolers to share it with tomorrow. I just wanted to share some modifications I’ve made that the kids loved. I used the sheep’s head pattern and “Jesus Loves Me” sign from the Sheep with Shaking Head craft and turned it into a peek-a-boo craft. The children glued the already-cut-out head to a craft stick. Then placed the sign in the sheep’s mouth. We then wrapped green paper that we cut into fringe around the outside of a paper cup. I used a mailing label with Psalm 23 (The Lord is my Shepherd) written on it to keep the “grass” attached to the cup. I punched a slit in the bottom of the cup with scissors; the craft stick goes inside and into the slit. The lamb waits inside the cup until you push the stick up and…“Peek-a-Boo!”…you’ve found the sheep! I also read “Because I Love You" by Max Lucado. Thank you for these wonderful lessons!! They’ve been an extraordinary inspiration! Summer

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